Leg rest control means for reclining chairs



y 1961 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 2,984,292

LEG REST CONTROL MEANSFOR RECLINING CHAIRS Filed July 7, 1959 FIG. I.

IN V EN TOR.

F 2/071! OF E SC/IL IEPHACKE 4% vv4 nrromvtxs S tates l atent Ofiice2,984,292 Patented May 16, 1961 LEG REST CONTROL MEANS FOR RECLININGCHAIRS Fridtjof F. Schliephacke, Berlin-Schmargendorf, Germany, assignorto Anton Lorenz, Boynton Beach, Fla.

Filed July 7, 1959, Ser. No. 825,572

8 Claims. (Cl. 155-106) The present invention relates to improvements inreclining chairs having a movable body-supporting structure and aleg-rest movable in response to movement of said body-supportingstructure, and in particular relates to a new and improved leg-restlink-age for such reclining chairs operable to move the leg-rest from anunderslung position beneath the seat to an extended position.

Leg-rest arrangements of the so-called underslung type are customarilyemployed in reclining chairs having high legs which support the seatwell above the floor surface. In such chairs, modern stylingrequirements result in the use of open frame-work sides mounted on long,narrow legs which present a relatively large open space between thebottom of the seat and the floor surface. Because of such openframework, the leg-rest and its linkage must be concealed in theirretracted position, so that the chair in the sitting position has theappearance of a normal well-styled modern chair. The leg-rest thereforeis of the underslung type which, in its retracted position, is closelyspaced from the bottom surface of the seat and is disposed substantiallyparallel thereto.

A problem encountered in the construction of the chair of theaforementioned type is concerned with moving the leg-rest from itsretracted position beneath the seat to an extended position forwardly ofthe seat. In this movement, the leg-rest must be swung through the angleof nearly 180, from an inverted horizontal position beneath the seat toan upright horizontal position forwardly of the seat. This requires arelatively long path of travel of the leg-rest in response to a shortpath of travel of the body-supporting unit of the chair. The linkagemust therefore be so constructed as to provide an accelerated movementof the leg-rest in response to a slight movement of the body-supportingunit.

Another problem inherent in the construction of reclining chairs of theaforementioned type is occasioned by the necessity of spacing theextended leg-rest well forwardly of the leading edge of the seat and inthe proper position to support the legs of the occupant. For thispurpose, the links of the leg-rest linkage must be of rather longdimension, and yet the leg-rest linkage must be so constructed thatthese long links are folded into a sufficiently compact arrangement asto be hidden from view by the chair open framework in the uprightposition of the body-supporting structure.

A further problem in the construction of a chair of the aforementionedtype is encountered when the legrest is swung to a vertical positionduring its travel from the inverted underslung retracted position to theupright extended position. Chair design requires that the seat belocated a comfortable distance from the ground surface and the spacebetween the forward end of the seat and the floor surface is thereforelimited. The path of travel of the leg-rest must therefore be soregulated that when the leg-rest passes between the seat and the floorsurface, it is not fully in its vertically-disposed position and doesnot strike or scrape the floor surface.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a leg-rest linkagefor reclining chairs of the type described which overcomes theaforementioned problems in an effective and economical manner.

Another object of the invention is the provision of the leg-rest linkageof the character described in which a drag link movement of a novel typeis employed for providing a long path of movement of the leg-rest inresponse to a relatively short path of movement of the body-supportingstructure.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a leg-rest linkageof the character described in which the links are so arranged as to movethe leg-rest to an extended position in which it is spaced wellforwardly from the front end of the seat, while at the same time thelinkage is so constructed as to cause the links to be folded up into avery compact form in the upright sitting position of the chair.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a leg-rest linkageof the character described in which novel means are provided fordelaying the movement of the leg-rest to its vertically disposedposition until the legrest linkage has moved the leg-rest to a positionin which it has passed the forward end of the seat and will not engagethe floor surface.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided in a reclining chair'a leg-rest linkage comprising two pairs of links carrying the leg-restand mounted on a control link which is pivotally mounted on the frame ofthe chair. A follower link, also mounted on the chair frame is connectedto one of the pairs of links in such a manner as to provide a drag linkmovement to drive the leg-rest through a relatively long path inresponse to relatively small movement of the seat. The leg-rest linkagealso includes a seat link connecting the control link to the seat andacting as lost motion means to delay actuation of the leg-rest linkageuntil the front of the seat has risen a suflicient distance to provideclearance between the seat and floor surface and to prevent the leg-restfrom striking the floor surface.

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent during the course of the following specification when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away and shown insection, of an improved reclining chair embodying the leg-rest linkageof the present invention, the chair being shown in its upright orsitting position with the leg-rest and its linkage retracted; and

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view similar to Fig. 1, showing the chairin a rearwardly tilted position with the leg-rest linkage extended andthe leg-rest in its elevated leg-supporting position.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates the typeof chair in which the leg-rest linkage of the present invention isparticularly adapted and intended to be incorporated. The chair has afixed and immovable support frame or base 10 mounted on legs 12. Abody-supporting structure 14, comprising a seat 16 and a back-rest 18formed as a rigid unit, is mounted for rearward tilting movement uponthe support frame 10.

The support frame 10 is formed by open side frames 20 which include siderails 22 connected by cross bars or braces 24 and 26. The chair alsoincludes a leg-rest 28 which is carried by a leg-rest actuating linkagedesignated generally by the reference numeral 30, the latter beingmounted on the support frame 10 and connected to the seat 16 in a mannerwhich will be presently described.

The chair legs 12 are made in accordance with modern styling and arerelatively high and narrow so as to present a large unencumbered spacebeneath the seat 16. To conform to such chair structure, the leg-rest isretracted to the underslung position shown in Fig. l, in which it isclosely spaced beneath the lower surface of the seat and issubstantially parallel thereto, so as to be substantially hidden fromview by the side rails 22. The leg-rest linkage 38 is also soconstructed that in this retracted position of the leg-rest, suchlinkage is collapsed into extremely compact form whereby the linksconstituting said linkage are closely folded together in a condition tobe hidden from view by the side frames 20 of the support frame 10.

The body-supporting unit 14 is mounted for rearward tilting movementupon the support frame by a front guide link 32 and rear guide link 34.The top ends of these guide links 32 and 34 are respectively connectedat spaced points to the seat 16 by pivots 36 and 38 while their lowerends are mounted at spaced points on the support frame 10 by respectivepivots 40 and 42. The front guide link 32 is inclined forwardly andupwardly from its pivotal mount 40 on the support frame 10 to itspivotal connection 36 with the seat 16, in the sitting position of thebody-supporting unit shown in Fig. 1. In this forwardly inclinedposition, the link 32 rests upon the cross bar 24, the latter serving asa stop member to support the front portion of the seat. The rear guidelink 34 is shorter than the front guide link 32 and extendssubstantially vertically upright in the sitting position of Fig. 1.

When the body-supporting unit 14 is tilted rearwardly from the uprightsitting position of Fig. l to the reclining position of Fig. 2, theupper end of the front guide link 32 is moved in an arc rearwardly andupwardly, thereby carrying the body-supporting unit 14 in a rearwarddirection and at the same time raising the forward end of the seat. Atthe same time, the rear guide link 34 moves in a rearward and downwardarc, thereby moving the rear portion of the body-supporting unit 14 in arearward direction and also lowering the same. Thus the body supportingunit 14 is moved in a rearward direction relative to the support frame10, and at the same time is rearwardly tilted to the attitude shown inFig. 2. In the reclining position of Fig. 2, the rear surface of thebackrest 18 engages the rear cross bar 26, the latter serving as stopmeans to limit further rearward tilting movement of said body-supportingunit.

Referring now specifically to the leg-rest linkage 30, the leg-rest 28is supported by a guiding linkage comprising a first pair of links 44,46 and a second pair of links 48, 50. The first pair of links 44 and 46are interconnected in end-to-end relationship by a pivot 52, While thesecond pair of links 48 and 50 are likewise connected cnd-to-end by apivot 54. The free end of the link 46 is connected to the structure ofthe leg-rest 28 by a pivot '56. The free end of the link 58 of thesecond pair of links is also connected to the leg-rest structure by apivot 58 at a point spaced from the pivotal connection 56 of the link 46to said leg-rest 28. The links 46 and 48 cross each other and areconnected by pivot 59 at their crossingover point.

The leg-rest linkage 30 also includes a control link 60 which ispivotally mounted at 62 on a bracket 64 rigidly affixed to the side rail22 of the support frame 10. The end of the link 48 of the second pair oflinks is mounted by pivot 66 on the end portion of said control link 60.The end of link 44 of the first pair of links is mounted by pivot 68 onthe central portion of the control link 60. The link 60 has a terminalextension 70 which pro jects angularly from the pivot 66 and isconnected by pivot 72 to one end of a curved seat link 74. The other endof said seat link 74 is connected by pivot 76 to the forward end portionof the seat 16.

The leg-rest linkage 30 also includes a follower link 80 which ismounted by pivot 82 on a second bracket 84 affixed to the side rail 22.The free end of the follower link 80 is connected by pivot 86 to anintermediate point on the link 44 between its end pivots 52 and 68.

The seat link 74 is the only connection between the leg-rest linkage 30and the seat 16, and serves as the actuating means to provide formovement of the leg-rest linkage in response to tilting movement of thebodysupporting unit. The seat link 74 also produces a lost motionmovement which retards the unfolding action of the leg-rest guidinglinkage until the forward end portion of the seat has risen a sufficientdistance to permit the leg-rest 28 to clear the floor surface. Aftersuch lost motion phase in the movement of the body-supporting unit, theseat link 74 then actuates the leg-rest linkage through the control link60 in a manner which will now be described in detail.

When the occupant of the chair leans rearwardly against the back-rest18, the body-supporting unit 14 will begin to tilt rearwardly, guided bythe guide links 32 and 34 as previously described. The forward portionof the seat 16 will thus be moved in an upward and rearward arc.Initially, this will have little effect on the leg-rest linkage 30, theseat link 74 turning about its pivotal mount 76 to compensate for thismovement of the seat, and the control link 60 remaining in substantiallythe same position as it assumes in Fig. 1.

As the seat rises and moves further rearwardly, the pivotal mount 76 ofthe seat link 70 moves to a position above and in vertical alignmentwith the pivotal connection 72 of the seat link 74 with the control link60. At this point, the seat link 74 lifts the free end of the controllink 60, causing the latter to turn upwardly about its pivotal mount 62,and thereby causing said control link 60 to tilt upwardly with the seat16. As the control link rises, it carries upwardly and rearwardly withit the links 44 and 48 through their respective pivotal connections 66and 68.

The upward and rearward movement of the link 44, causes the followerlink to actuate the two pairs of links 44, 46 and 48, 50 of the leg-restguiding linkage. The follower link 80, having a fixed pivot 82 on thesupport frame, acts as a pusher link, restraining the rearward andupward movement of link 44 at its intermediate pivot point 86. Thus, asthe upper end of the link 44 is moved upwardly and rearwardly with thecontrol link 60, the relatively immovable intermediate point 86 acts asa fulcrum about which the link 44 pivots, and its longer lower endportion beneath the pivot 86 turns rapidly in a forward direction to theextended position shown in Fig. 2. The follower link 80 turns upwardlyduring this movement.

The control link 60, the follower link 80 and the link 44 thus functionas a drag link mechanism to move the pairs of leg-rest links rapidlythrough a wide path in response to a relatively short path of movementof the body-supporting unit. In this drag-link mechanism, the controllink 60 acts as the driving crank, the follower link 80 as the drivencrank, and the link 44 as the connecting rod. During the movement of theseat 16 from the sitting position to the reclining position, the draglink mechanism functions to turn the link 44 from therearwardly-directed retracted position of Fig. 1 through an angle ofnearly to the forwardly-extending position of Fig. 2. The link 44, ofcourse, raises its connected link 46 of the first pair and also extendsthe second pair of links 48 and 50 through the pivotal connection 59.Thus, as the pair of links 44, 46 move the leg-rest 28 from beneath theseat to the extended position forwardly of the seat, the second linkpair 48, 50 turn the leg-rest 28 about the pivot 56 from the invertedposition of Fig. 1 through an angle of approximately 180 to the uprightposition of Fig. 2.

The pivot 66 is preferably made in the form of an elongated pivot pinpositioned to engage the edge of the seat link 74 in the extendedleg-rest position of Fig. 2. This pivot pin 66 serves as a stop memberto prevent further turning movement or wobbling of the linkage in saidextended position.

It will be observed that in moving forwardly, the seat link 74 carrieswith it the pivots 72 and 66, thereby having the effect of moving thelink pair 48 and 50 forwardly relative to the seat and increasing theeffective length of the leg-rest guiding linkage in the extendedposition. This provides for a greater spacing of the leg-rest 28forwardly of the seat, which is a desirable feature.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed herein, it is obvious that numerous omissions, changes andadditions may be made in such embodiment without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a reclining chair having a support frame, a bodysupportingstructure including a seat and a back-rest mounted on said support framefor tilting movement to a reclining position, and a leg-rest; leg-restcontrol means for actuating the leg-rest in response to tilting movementof the body-supporting structure, said leg-rest control means includinga guiding linkage carrying the leg-rest and movable from a foldedcondition to an expanded condition in response to tilting movement ofthe body-supporting structure, thereby moving the leg-rest from aretracted position beneath the seat to an extended position forwardly ofthe seat, a control link pivotally mounted on the support frame andcarrying the leg-rest guiding linkage, lost motion means connecting thefree end of the control link to the forward end portion of the seat forupward and rearward movement of the control link and the legrest guidinglinkage carried thereby with the seat during tilting movement of thebody-supporting structure, and actuating means mounted on the supportframe and connected to the guiding linkage for moving the guidinglinkage to its expanded condition and the leg-rest to its extendedposition when the guiding linkage is raised by the control link, thelost motion means being arranged to delay the movement of the controllink during the initial movement of the body-supporting structure towardits reclining position.

2. In a reclining chair having a support frame, a body supportingstructure including a seat and a back-rest mounted on said support framefor tilting movement to a reclining position, and a leg-rest; leg-restcontrol means for actuating the leg-rest in response to tilting movementof the body-supporting structure, said leg-rest control means includinga guiding linkage carrying the leg-rest and coupled to the seat formoving said leg-rest from a retracted position beneath the seat to anextended position forwardly of the seat, a control link pivotallymounted on the support frame, the guiding linkage being pivotallymounted on the control link, a seat link pivotally mounted on theforward end portion of the seat and pivotally connected to the free endof the control link, said seat link coupling the control link with theseat for raising said control link with the forward end of the seat whenthe body-supporting structure is tilted to its reclining position, and afollower link pivotally mounted on the support and pivotally connectedto at least one link of the leg-rest guiding linkage for actuating theguiding linkage to move the leg-rest to its extended position when theguiding linkage is raised by said control link, the seat link beingarranged and positioned to serve as lost motion means for delaying theraising movement of the control link during the initial tilting movementof the body-supporting structure whereby to delay movement of theleg-rest toward its extended position.

3. In a reclining chair having a support frame, a bodysupportingstructure including a seat and a back-rest mounted on said support framefor tilting. movement to a reclining position, and a leg-rest; leg-restcontrol means for actuating the leg-rest in response to tilting movementof the body-supporting structure, said leg-rest control means includinga guiding linkage carrying the leg-rest and movable from a foldedcondition to an expanded condition in response to tilting movement ofthe bodysupporting structure, thereby moving the leg-rest from aretracted position beneath the seat to an extended position forwardly ofthe seat, a control link pivotally mounted on the support frame andcarrying the leg-rest guiding linkage, lost motion means connecting thecontrol link to the seat for upward and rearward movement of the control link and the leg-rest guiding linkage carried thereby with the seatduring tilting movement of the body-supporting structure, said lostmotion means comprising a seat link pivotally mounted on the forward endportion of the seat and pivotally connected to the free end of thecontrol link, and a follower link pivotally mounted on the support frameand connected to the guiding linkage for moving the guiding linkage toits expanded condition and the leg-rest to its extended position whenthe guiding linkage is raised by the control link, the seat link beingpositioned to provide a lost motion movement to delay the raisingmovement of the control link with the seat during the initial movementof the body-supporting structure toward its reclining position.

4. In a reclining chair having a support frame, a bodysupportingstructure including a seat and a back-rest mounted on said support framefor tilting movement to a reclining position, and a leg-rest; leg-restcontrol means for actuating the leg-rest in response to tilting movementof the body-supporting structure, said leg-rest control means includinga double four-bar linkage carrying the leg-rest and adapted to move thelatter from a retracted position beneath the seat to an extendedposition forwardly of the seat, a control link pivotally mounted on thesupport frame, the double four-bar linkage being pivotally mounted onsaid control link, means for actuating said double four-bar linkage, andlost motion means for delaying the actuation of said double four-barlinkage during the initial tilting movement of the body-supporting unittoward its reclining position, lost motion means comprising a seat linkmounting the free end of the control link on the forward end of theseat, said actuating means comprising a follower link pivotally mountedon the support frame and pivotally connected to at least one link of thedouble four-bar linkage.

5. In a reclining chair having a support frame, a bodysupportingstructure including a seat and a back-rest mounted on said support framefor tilting movement to a reclining position, and a leg-rest; leg-restcontrol means for actuating the leg-rest in response to tilting movementof the body-supporting structure, said leg-rest control means includinga guiding linkage carrying the leg-rest and movable from a foldedcondition to an expanded condition in response to tilting movement ofthe body-supporting structure, thereby moving the leg-rest from aretracted underslung, inverted position beneath the seat to an upright,extended position forwardly of the seat, a control link pivotallymounted on the support frame and carrying the leg-rest guiding linkage,lost motion means connecting the free end of the control link to theforward end portion of the seat for upward and rearward movement of thecontrol link and the leg-rest guiding linkage carried thereby with theseat during tilting movement of the body-supporting structure, and afollower link pivotally mounted on the support frame and pivotallyconnected to the guiding linkage for moving the guiding linkage to itsexpanded condition and the leg-rest to its extended position when theguiding linkage is raised by the control link, the lost motion meanscomprising a seat link pivotally mounted on the forward end portion ofthe seat and pivotally connected to the free end of the control link,the seat link extending rearwardly and downwardly from its pivotal mounton the seat in the retracted position of the leg-rest and movingforwardly and upwardly during the initial movement of the seat towardthe reclining position whereby to delay the movement of the control linkduring the initial movement of the body-supporting structure toward itsreclining position.

6. Leg-rest control means according to claim 5 in which the leg-restguiding linkage includes a first pair of links constituting a first andsecond pivotally interconnected links and a second pair of linksconstituting a third and fourth pivotally interconnected links, thefirst and third links being pivotally mounted at spaced points on thecontrol link and the second and fourth links being pivotally connectedat spaced points on the leg-rest.

7. Leg-rest control means according to claim 6 in which the followerlink is pivotally connected to the first link of the guiding linkage.

8. Leg-rest control means according to claim 5 in which the followerlink is connected to an intermediate point on the first link proximateto the pivotal mount of the first link on the control link, the followerlink, first link and 8 control link constituting a drag-link mechanismfor amplified movement of the leg-rest in response to relatively shortmovement of the body-supporting structure, the control link serving asthe driving crank in said drag link mechanism, the follower link as thedriven crank, and the first link as the connecting rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,871,919 Schliephacke Feb. 3, 1959 2,880,785 Schliephacke Apr. 7, 1959FOREIGN PATENTS 724,384 Great Britain Feb. 16, 1955 536,061 Belgium Mar.15, 1955 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentN05 2,984,292 May 16 1961 Fridtjof F Schliephacke It is hereby certifiedthat error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction andthat the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 7, line 12 for the claim reference numeral 5" read 7 Signed andsealed this 24th day of October 19610 (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of PatentsUSCOMM-DC

